Valve Has Developed A Game Controller

This morning, Valve revealed the first steps of its plan to marry the new SteamOS to custom hardware. According to the Steam Machines Beta Test Agreement, Valve has developed a game controller. Speculation has been abundant about the third of Valve's announcements, which is scheduled for reveal on Friday at 1 PM Eastern.

"Valve Corporation ("Valve", "We", "Us" or "Our") has developed and produced prototypes of entertainment system hardware and software, including a set-top box running custom software and a game controller (collectively: "Beta Products")," the agreement states. Whether Valve intends to release this controller to market or has simply created it for the purposes of testing is unclear.

Our TakeIf Valve plans to compete in the controller space, it has a lot of work to do to unseat the current preferred device. A wired Xbox 360 controller (or wireless one in tandem with a USB receiver) is an affordable, comfortable, and (for many) already available option.

Ouya tried to create their own controller, and many resort to other options because of how hard it is to create something that feels good and operates with minimal latency. I'm extremely eager to see what Valve has come up with, and since the beta participants will be able to share, we get a look before the end of 2013.

This actually excites me. I hate the Xbox 360 controller and it irritates me that for most games on Steam that is the only controller supported unless you use a separate program to manipulate it into using one of my more preferred controllers like Logitech or PS3. So a good quality Valve controller could be much preferred for me.

I have to use a third-party program to get my PS3 controller to work with my Steam games, since the design of the 360 controller is very uncomfortable to me. If they come out with a good enough controller at a reasonable price, I'll be in the market.

It'll be interesting to see if Valve goes completely solo with their own hardware division here, or calls on some hardware maker with experience to help out. Like Logitech? Or even Sega, HORI, Madcatz... someone like that? If you're gonna compete with the likes of the Dual Shock 4, the 360 pad, or the Wii U Pro Controller, you best not come unless you're bringing some big guns with you.